A storied inn

There are no telephones. No televisions. No radios. No clocks. Cell phones definitely won't get service. To some, it sounds like a nightmare, but to many, Story, Ind., is the perfect place to run to when they want to get away from life in the city.\nWhat began as a boomtown in the late 1800s, Story, Ind., was the largest settlement in the area at the turn of the century. As Story's timber resources started to diminish, it became a ghost town and its popular general store closed. After the logging industry completely dried up, a gentleman named Doc Story came in and bought the village and made it what it is today. The original checkerboard and benches that were put on the porch of the general store are still sitting where they were first placed in the 1850s. \nYou won't find stop lights or busy traffic in Story. The population of the village is whoever occupies the Story Inn. General manager of the Story Inn, David Sabato, says the bed and breakfast prides itself in the fact that it doesn't have telephones, televisions or clocks. The rooms do come with a bottle of wine and free breakfast from their gourmet restaurant.\nBreakfast choices include banana walnut pancakes, biscuits and gravy and a few omelet selections. The lunch and dinner menus have choices such as the Celtic sausage sandwich, grilled artichoke served on a croissant with white cheddar cheese, pork medallions with rosemary sauce and Hawaiian chicken with pineapple. A trip behind the restaraunt will show you their large herb garden. This is where they get the herbs to make essential oils for the cooking in the restaraunt. \nAll rooms and homes are original homes that have been restored for the bed and breakfast. No two rooms are alike at the Story Inn. Each is differently decorated, often with flowers, wicker furniture and curtains and bedspreads that follow the room theme as well. There are 16 rooms total, all with private baths and a few with hot tubs. Also found in each room is a journal where residents can read entries from past occupants of the room and add their own experiences in Story into the journal. \nOne might ask then what exactly what a bed and breakfast in Story, Ind., would have to offer college students. For starters, Tonya Bokick, employee of the Old Mill Grill in Story, says the festivals in the summer and fall are a great time.\nThe annual festivals in Story bring many people to the village. In the 3M Scotch sponsored Sculpt-a-Celebrity Contest, people can enter sculptures of celebrities made out of Duct Tape. Other festivals include Story Fest, wine tastings and bluegrass festivals. All of these festivals take place in an opening in the woods behind the old general store. The woods surrounding the opening also contain a sauna for guests and the manager hopes so someday include fitness trails through the woods. The openess and naturalness of Story is almost like a time warp, taking you back to a time when the village was first founded.\n"In the summer and fall this place really gets packed," Bokick says. "There's good entertainment on any weekend. Of course the bar is great, we like to drink here. So if you just want to get away, it's a great spot."\nThe Old Mill Grill has a bar and is as rustic and historic as the rest of Story. In the summer time the party is sometimes moved outside to a patio where people can drink and enjoy the entertainment under the stars. \nEric Brown, a guitarist in the bands L.U.V. and The Hillbilly Cats, says the best thing about performing there is the enthusiasm for music. He says you get the feeling that it's a muscially educated group of people genuinely interested in being entertained. Brown says college students could find at Story something completely different than anywhere else they've been.\n"As wonderful as Bloomington is, you have to get out every once in a while. Story is the perfect way to break up a routine and do something different," Brown says. "You're definitely going to meet some interesting people there." \nAside from interesting people, visitors might encounter interesting stories behind the room they stay in. Students looking for a scare might want to check into the Blue Lady Room. Past customers have mentioned the ghost of the Blue Lady and wrote in the journal provided about her presence felt while they stayed in the room. Entries suggest that she slams doors, flushes the toilet in the middle of the night and sometimes makes actual appearances. All it takes is turning on the blue light beside the bed in The Blue Lady Room and she might make an appearance. \nSabato says he has felt her presence when he is working late in his office next to her room.\n"She's very friendly, not mean at all. I think she's a restless spirit but I consider her more of an angel than a ghost," Sabato says. "I think she's just watching over the town. Nobody knows what her history is or what her significance is."\nThe festivals are fun and The Blue Lady might give you a scare, but Story Inn employee Vassar Davis says the nature surrounding the village is the best thing about it.\n"I grew up around here and I've gone to IU on and off for the past five years," Davis says. "Now I've come to work here and it's a very nice area. I like the isolation, and I'm also a songwriter. More than anything, Story offers a place of inspiration."\nBrown says it's a great time, but the trip there isn't all that easy.\n"There is no good way to drive to Story. It's a beautiful drive, but as a performer, it can be difficult to get in and out of," Brown says. "You also want to stay and party with the folks, but you know you've got 25 miles of curvy road ahead of you."\nWinding roads along the sides of hills with deep drop offs could provide for a dangerous ride in snow or rain. What should normally be a 45-minute trip from Bloomington could turn into an hour or longer trip if the weather isn't on your side. When you finally do make it to Story, the prices aren't exactly made for college students. Room rates start at $97.25 and run as high as $200 a night for the rooms with hot tubs.\nThe drive might be a rough one and the prices expensive for a college budget, but Story, Ind., seems to offer something for everyone. Festivals, a bar and grill, history, entertainment, nature and good food can all be found in the small village named Story.